Rubytale
by VeigarSenpai
Summary: Ruby Rose is separated from her teammates on a search-and-destroy mission and falls into the Underground, populated by monsters. Will she find her way back to her friends, or will her SOUL be taken to free the monsters from their prison?
1. Chapter 1

"Oh, my head…"

Ruby sat up straight and rubbed her throbbing skull with her hand. She didn't want to think too hard with her head hurting like this, and her eyes were squeezed tightly shut. As the pain subsided, she opened her eyes to look at her surroundings; the last thing she remembered was climbing up the mountain with her teammates on a mission. She looked around but they were nowhere in sight; just a bed of golden flowers beneath her that seemed to have cushioned her fall slightly. For some reason, they didn't seem damaged at all.

Looking up, she could see the hole she'd fallen through. It was really high up, so she doubted she'd be able to climb her way back. She looked ahead of her and saw a hallway with an ornately carved doorway in going off to the left.

"Strange," she mused, "why are there ruins under this mountain?" As the pain in her head drew back, she collected her bearings and realized the whole cavern seemed to have been inhabited; several columns went up to the ceiling, but everything looked old and covered in moss.

Standing up, Ruby pulled out her Scroll to try and call Yang, but there was no signal- she was cut off. Stuffing it back into her pocket, she decided there was only one way she could go, stepping off the flowerbed and walking through the door.

The room she stepped into was incredibly dark, except for a small patch of light that shone down into the center of the room, in which was a small, yellow flower. As her eyes adjusted, Ruby could see another doorway on the opposite side of the room, She stepped forward, when suddenly she heard a voice.

"Howdy!"

Ruby jumped and darted her head around, looking for the source of the noise. It was a high-pitched, squeaky voice, but despite that, it sounded like a boy speaking. The voice seemed to have come from the middle of the room, but the only thing there was the flower.

"Down here!"

It was from the center of the room again. Ruby turned to look more closely at the flower and saw that it had a face, and it was smiling amicably. Immediately she jumped back with a yelp. "AAAHH! Talking flower!"

The little flower giggled. "Yep. That's me! I'm Flowey! Flowey the Flower! You must be new to the Underground, huh?"

Ruby took an apprehensive step forward. "Um… yeah. Can you tell me how I can get out of here? I need to get back to my friends."

Flowey smiled wider. "Sure! I can help with that. But first, someone ought to teach you how things work around here. I guess little old me will have to do." He winked, and little white dots appeared and hovered in the air around him. "Let's start with your SOUL: It's the very culmination of your being, and everything's about the SOUL down here. Your SOUL starts off weak, but it can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."

"LV?" Ruby asked with a confused expression.

"Why, LOVE, of course!" Flowey explained. "Down here, LOVE is shared through little white… friendliness pellets." He smiled at the white dots in the air around him. "Here, I'll share some with you. Ready? Move around! Collect as many friendliness pellets as you can!"

The friendliness pellets moved slowly toward Ruby. _This is getting really weird,_ she thought as she moved to stand in their path. Just before they reached her, the pellets darted forward, slamming into her stomach and knocking her backward into the opposite wall.

Ruby coughed and pressed her hand against her gut as she pulled herself onto her hands and knees. When she looked up, dozens of friendliness pellets filled the air around her, and Flowey's face was contorted into a horrifying grin. "You IDIOT." His voice had changed completely, becoming a menacing growl. "Down here, _it's kill or be killed!_ Why would _anyone_ pass up an opportunity like this?"

The pellets began to move toward Ruby, but she couldn't move. She shut her eyes tight and turned away as Flowey's maniacal laughter filled the room and the pellets slowly closed in.

Ruby waited for the pellets to hit her, but they never came. Instead, a warm feeling washed over her, melting away all of her pain. She looked up to see streams of fire arcing through the room, burning all of the pellets to ashes. Flowey got a terrified look on his face, and ducked down, burrowing underground and out of sight.

As Ruby picked herself up, someone knelt down next to her, and something soft rested on her shoulder. "What a terrible creature, tormenting such a poor, innocent, youth." said a motherly voice. Ruby looked up to see the strangest creature she had ever seen resting a furry hand on her.

It was clearly a female creature, her face shaped vaguely like a goat's, with small horns and soft, white fur covering her body. She wore a purple robe with white sleeves that had a strange emblem emblazoned on the front: a winged circle with three triangles beneath it. She smiled as Ruby looked up at her. "Do not be afraid, my child." she crooned gently. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins."


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby stared up at Toriel as they walked down the hallways of the Ruins. "Um, thanks for helping me out back there. But, uh, sorry if this is rude, but… what exactly are you?"

"Why, a monster, of course!" Toriel answered. "We were sealed underground by humans many years ago after the Great War. Did you not know about this?"

Ruby shook her head. "How long have you been down here?"

Toriel looked away thoughtfully. "I don't really know. I've somewhat lost track of the time down here." Ruby could tell she wasn't entirely telling the truth, but before she could say anything, Toriel shook her head. "Anyways, we need to get you out of here! It's dangerous for a human like you to be here. There are other monsters here that aren't quite as… trusting of humans as I am, you saw for yourself with that flower."

Ruby nodded. "Well, as long as I'm more careful, I should be alright to handle myself. I've got Crescent Rose if worse comes to worst." To emphasize her point, Ruby pulled the weapon out from behind her back and flipped a switch. It burst into action, gears shifting, blades unfolding as the nondescript metal rectangle transformed into an enormous scythe.

Toriel scrambled back with a shocked expression. "Goodness, what are you doing with such a dangerous thing!?"

Ruby shrugged. "It's for killing Grimm. What else?"

The poor monster looked like she was about to faint. "Killing? You use that thing to kill?" The air leaked out of her lungs and she turned away. "Maybe you really are just like them…"

Ruby wasn't sure how to respond, but she put the scythe away in hopes that it would make Toriel feel better. "Do you know what Grimm are? Talking things out really isn't an option with them."

Toriel did not look convinced. "I still don't approve of someone so young being taught to be so… violent."

Ruby thought for a moment. "Well, Grimm are demons bent on the destruction of human society. They won't stop until we're all dead, and as a huntress in training, it's going to be my job to make sure that doesn't happen."

Toriel took a moment to think before responding. "Maybe the surface world is a lot scarier than I remember." she mused. "But in any case, there aren't any 'Grimm' down here, so why don't we work on solving your problems peacefully. As a human in the Underground, monsters are bound to attack you." Stepping into the next room, Ruby saw a white training dummy standing in the middle. Toriel gestured to it. "Here- why don't you practice talking with this dummy?"

 _Talking to a dummy?_ Ruby thought. _Well, it won't be the weirdest thing that's happened today._ She stepped up to the dummy, trying to come up with any topics dummies would be interested in. "Um… Hi, dummy. I'm Ruby." was all she could think to say. The dummy didn't seem much for conversation, but Toriel looked pleased.

"Splendid!" she said. "I am proud of you, Ruby." Taking Ruby's hand she guided her into the next room. "Now, I have some errands to run, and i want you to wait here while I take care of them, please." Toriel fished in her pocket and pulled out a rectangular device with a number pad on it similar to that of a Scroll, giving it to Ruby. "Here is a cell phone, if you need me, call anytime. But it's dangerous to wander around the ruins on your own. So please wait for me, I will be right back."

Toriel walked off. Ruby watched her go, waiting until she was out of sight. Like heck she was going to wait, she needed to get back. Ruby waited until she was convinced Toriel had gone, then set out. As she stepped into the next room, she realized something else was already in there.

A strange monster approached her slowly, flitting about on tiny wings. It had little stubby hands and feet that quivered nervously, and a face that looked like it wished it could just vanish so it wouldn't have to face her.

Remembering what Toriel had said, Ruby stepped toward it and reached out. "Hey," she said as gently as possible, "don't be-"

Before she could even finish the sentence, the monster burst into tears and fluttered away at surprising speed, wailing inconsolably. Ruby ran after it, calling out "Hey, wait! Can you tell me how to-"

The monster rounded a corner, but by the time Ruby had gotten there, it was nowhere to be seen. She was in a new room, a large square hallway that turned narrower in the center. Something white sat in the narrow space, blocking the way. As Ruby got closer she could hear it saying 'z' out loud repeatedly, like a poor attempt at pretending to sleep.

When she was next to it, she could see its shape more clearly. It was shaped like a cartoon ghost, with big white eyes that stared up at the ceiling, trying very hard not to look at her, continuously repeating " z".

Ruby simply stepped back and crouched down. Activating her Semblance, she zipped forward and jumped over the ghost. Rose petals filled the air and settled on the ghost, who stopped 'z'ing and sat up to look at her.

"Oh…" it moaned. "Did you want me to move? I'm sorry. I just really didn't feel up to a conversation. This is really awkward…" The ghost let out a forlorn sigh and vanished.

Ruby shrugged and continued walking through the Ruins. After several more hallways, she stepped into a grand hallway with a red carpet running down the middle and around a large tree that was barren of any leaves. As Ruby wondered how the tree even grew down here, she heard the phone Toriel had given her ringing. Immediately after, the monster herself walked around the other side of the tree and spotted Ruby. She hung up the phone and rushed over with a worried expression. "Ruby! Oh, goodness, are you hurt?" Toriel checked her over thoroughly to make sure there was not a scratch on her. "Thank heavens you're all right." Toriel sighed. "Well, since you're here, we might as well get you settled in.

Toriel guided Ruby over to a doorway set into the walls of the Ruins. "Here we are! Your new home." As she stepped inside, Ruby went to follow her, but something else caught her eye. She turned to see a golden light floating in the air beside the doorway. Something about it was… mesmerizing.

Against her better judgement, Ruby reached her hand out toward it. As she made contact, a warm feeling spread through her body. She suddenly felt like she could run a thousand miles.

Pondering the light for a few more moments, she decided she'd better not keep Toriel waiting, and she still needed to get out of this place. She shook her head and stepped inside.


	3. Chapter 3

As Ruby stepped in, a pleasant smell wafted through the air. Toriel stood in front of her with an excited expression. "Do you smell that?" the monster asked. "Surprise! It is a butterscotch-cinnamon pie. I want you to have a nice time living here, so I will hold off on snail pie for tonight."

Ruby stepped forward. "Um, Toriel, I really appreciate you looking out for me, but… I need to get home."

Toriel looked nervous. "Um… this _is_ your home now."

Ruby shook her head. "Toriel, I have friends waiting for me back on the surface. I've got people relying on me, and a family. I need to get back to them."

Toriel looked like she wanted to say anything at all to persuade Ruby, but eventually she just sighed. "I understand, and I want to protect you. I know you aren't a child like the others, but…" She paused.

"Others?" Ruby asked.

Toriel hung her head. "Yes. You aren't the first human to fall down here. The others… I let them go as well, even though I wanted to keep them safe here." Tears welled up in Toriel's eyes. "I have seen it time and time again, Ruby. They come. They leave. They die. If you leave the Ruins, they… Asgore will kill you." She took a deep breath and blinked back the tears. "And from what you've told me, the surface sounds even less safe than the Underground. So if you're set on leaving... I want you to prove to me that you are strong enough to survive. Please follow me."

Toriel turned, and walked down the stairs behind her. Ruby followed her down, her legs shaking. They continued through a long hallway, not saying anything. There wasn't anything else Ruby could think to talk about.

Finally they rounded a corner, entering a large, open room with a door at the other end. Toriel stepped in front of the door and turned around to face Ruby. "Are you ready?" she asked. Before Ruby could ask what was happening, a ball of fire appeared in Toriel's hand and sailed toward Ruby.

Now she understood. Grabbing Crescent Rose, she pulled out the scythe and extended it to its full length. She could see Toriel bracing herself as more streams of fire filled the air. Activating her Semblance, Ruby leapt forward as a red blur, throwing a sharp wind through the room and putting out some of the flames. She appeared in front of Toriel and swung the scythe downward, but the monster dodged the blow and hit Ruby with another bolt, knocking her back.

Ruby collected herself and planted Crescent Rose's blade into the ground, firing a few rounds at her from the built-in sniper. The first bullet hit Toriel, but didn't seem to hurt her very much. She conjured a glowing barrier that blocked the other shots.

The fight went on a long time with Ruby and Toriel landing multiple blows on each other. Until suddenly, Ruby used her Semblance at the wrong time, dashing forward just as a ball of fire left Toriel's hand. It knocked her out of her charge, stopping her in her tracks. Toriel's arm quivered as she held out her hand, causing the other fire streams to converge on the young girl and hit her all at once.

Ruby cried out as the attacks burned through her Aura and seared her skin in multiple places. The pain was too much for her, and she collapsed on the ground. She saw Toriel gasp in shock and cover her mouth with her hands before her vision blacked out.

As darkness surrounded Ruby, a burning feeling blossomed in the center of her being. _I can't die like this. I won't leave them._ As she felt her grip on the world slipping away, Ruby saw a golden light, the same light that had appeared in front of Toriel's home. She couldn't move, and only watched as the light moved towards her as she died.

* * *

Consciousness came back to Ruby all at once. She gasped and sat up, breathing heavily as she took in her surroundings. She was sitting outside the door to Toriel's home, sitting right next to the familiar golden light hovering in the air.

She checked herself over, but there were no wounds on her- was it all a dream? _Only one way to find out,_ she decided as she stepped into Toriel's house once more.

Toriel was standing right in front of the stairs to the basement, just as she was before. "Do you smell that? Surprise!" she repeated. Looking around, Ruby could see that the interior of the house was exactly as she remembered. Toriel saw her confused expression. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

Ruby paused, then shook her head. "N-no. Um, Toriel, I really appreciate all this, but… I need to get home.

From then on, the conversation proceeded exactly as it had before. Before Ruby knew it, she and Toriel were already walking down the hallway to the door. Toriel turned around as she stepped in front of the door. "Ready?" she asked.

Ruby knew what she meant this time. Grabbing Crescent Rose immediately, she rushed Toriel as flames filled the room.

The fight went entirely differently this time. Ruby knew all of Toriel's moves and tactics, striking at her again and again while dodging the streams of fire, but the monster shrugged off the blows. One of Ruby's attacks staggered Toriel, and she took the opportunity immediately, dashing forward and bringing the scythe up in a deadly arc.

The blade cleaved through Toriel from hip to shoulder, stopping the monster in her tracks. The flames all around the room died like a candle being blown out, sending a cold wind through the room. Ruby's eyes widened as the full realization of what she'd done struck her, and Crescent Rose slipped out of her hands, clattering to the ground. She rushed over to Toriel, who leaned back into the young girl's arms.

Ruby's eyes filled with tears as Toriel gasped for breath, reaching up to gently caress Ruby's face with her furry hand. "Do not cry, Ruby." she coughed. "You are stronger than I thought you were. Listen to me. After you leave here, continue on until you reach Asgore's castle, and cross through the barrier to the surface." She took another raggedy breath between each sentence. "Do not let Asgore take your soul."

Ruby ran her hand up the back of Toriel's neck. "Toriel, hang on." she pleaded, her voice breaking. "Don't die. Please!"

Toriel simply leaned back and smiled. "Be good, won't you?... My child…" She went limp, and started to lose form, slowly crumbling to dust in Ruby's arms. A white light floated in the air where her heart was, then slowly died out.

Ruby covered her face in her hands and wept, her mind jumping all over the place frantically wondering what else she could have done. Suddenly her thoughts focused on the golden light. Could she do it again?

Thinking about the warmth that had spread through her as she touched the light, Ruby felt the same burning in her chest that she had felt as she died the first time, and suddenly she knew what she had to do. She focused on that feeling as the world went black around her once again.


	4. Chapter 4

Ruby woke up right outside Toriel's house once again. She'd pulled it off! Wiping the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve, she stepped in to see Toriel still standing in front of the stairway as if nothing had ever happened.

"Do you smell that? Surprise!" Suddenly, Toriel frowned. "Goodness, how did your clothes get so dusty?" She stepped forward and knelt down to brush the dust off of Ruby's combat skirt with her hand. Ruby tried not to think about what was actually happening as she did so. When Toriel was satisfied, she stood back. "There we are. I want you to have a nice time living here, so I will hold off on snail pie for tonight. This one's butterscotch and cinnamon!"

For the third time, Ruby told the monster "Toriel, I appreciate everything you're doing for me, but I need to get home."

The conversation went on exactly the same way as the first two times, and Ruby once again found herself standing in the room at the end of the hallway with Toriel blocking the door. "Ready?" Toriel asked.

The fire streaked toward Ruby, and she jumped out of the way. But this time, she didn't even reach for her weapon, and simply kept her eyes locked on Toriel's. After two more dodged attacks, the monster furrowed her brow. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Ruby stood her ground. "I won't fight you, Toriel."

Toriel took a deep breath. "Don't give me that. Fight me or leave!" She sent more flames darting toward Ruby, who once again dodged them easily, but still refused to draw her weapon. Toriel's expression faltered as she launched more fireballs. "Attack or run away!" she commanded.

Ruby just shook her head. "No, Toriel. I'm not going to hurt you."

Toriel's arms dropped a little. "Why are you making this so difficult?" She launched more streams of fire at Ruby, who prepared to dodge, but they didn't come anywhere close to hitting her. They swept harmlessly around the young girl and hit the wall behind her.

Ruby knew Toriel was deliberately avoiding hitting her. This was her chance. She had to keep pressing. "Toriel," she pleaded, "I know you only want to protect me. But I need to get back. I want to protect my friends too. Please, Toriel."

The monster's arms dropped to her sides and she hung her head. The fires around the room flickered and died. Ruby and Toriel stood facing each other wordlessly for several seconds. Finally Toriel let out a little humorless laugh. "Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single girl…" She took a shaky breath and looked at Ruby, red eyes meeting silver. "But I understand. Just promise me you'll stay safe out there, ok?" She stepped forward to the young girl and knelt down to wrap her in a big hug. Ruby hugged her back, her face pressing into the soft, white fur of the monster's neck. She couldn't remember being hugged by her own mother, but this was probably close enough.

When Toriel pulled back, her eyes were misty. "But please, do not turn back for me. I hope you understand. Goodbye, Ruby." With that, she stood up and walked back the way they had come in, taking one last look back at Ruby before heading down the hallway out of sight.

Ruby wanted to go after her, but she swallowed her emotions. Pushing the great stone doors open, she stepped through and continued on her journey.

Another long hallway met her eyes. Walking through it seemed to take forever. Finally it opened up into another room. It looked just like the second room she had walked into since falling underground. And just like that room, sitting in the in a beam of light was a little golden flower with a face. "Clever. Veeeery clever." Flowey smirked.

 **BANG!**

The sniper round blasted apart the ground where Flowey was, leaving a ruined crater. Ruby stood still, holding onto Crescent Rose as the gun barrel steamed. After several seconds, she put away the weapon and let out a breath.

"And just like that, everything she taught you goes right out the window, huh?" Flowey's voice was right next to Ruby, making her jump a foot in the air, scrambling away from the spot where he now stood… sat… grew? "Don't worry," Flowey continued, "I'm not here to kill you. We both know that's not going to accomplish anything, don't we?"

Ruby gave an exasperated sigh. "What do you want, Flowey?"

Flowey ducked underground and popped back up next to the hole left by Ruby's attack. "You think you're really smart, don't you? Sparing the life of a single person." He chuckled to himself. "In this world, it's kill or be killed. So you were able to play by your own rules this time. But don't get too cocky, I know what you did." Flowey's face contorted into a wicked grin. " _YOU MURDERED HER._ " He changed back to normal almost instantly. Ruby didn't know how to react and just stood there, staring at him with wide eyes. Flowey kept going. "And then you went back because you felt bad. You know, I used to have that power too. The ability to play God. The ability to SAVE at those golden lights scattered around the underground."

"SAVE?" Ruby asked apprehensively. "You mean like, in a video game or something?"

Flowey grinned. "Right! You catch on quick. But as I was saying, I can't SAVE anymore, ever since you came in. I think only one being can have the power at a time, and now it's yours. So since you managed to avoid killing anyone this time, I want you to try something. A little contest, nothing complicated. I want you to prove me wrong. I want you to find your way home without killing _anyone_. See how far that gets you." He winked. "After all, with the power to SAVE, you can try as many times as you like."

Ruby thought for a moment. "What's in it for me if I win your 'contest'?"

Flowey laughed. "Wow, you expect a prize for _not killing anyone_? But don't worry, I've got something in mind. A little surprise, and a happy ending for everyone." His smile got a little wider. "But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die. Until you tire of trying. What will you do then?" His grin became demonic again. "Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world, and let _me_ inherit the power to control it? I am the prince of this world's future. But don't worry my little queen, my plan isn't regicide." His face turned back to normal again. "This is _so_ much more interesting." With that, he vanished underground again.

Ruby hated not getting the last word, and Flowey's words worried her. But she had to keep moving. Walking across the room, she stepped out the door at the other end and into the rest of the Underground.


	5. Chapter 5

The air was cold, but there was no wind. A fresh blanket of snow covered the ground, as well as the trees along the wooded path. Ruby walked through the snow, wondering how there was snow underground- or trees, for that matter. Looking up, she couldn't see a ceiling- only blackness. So where was the light coming from?

The cavern seemed to stretch for miles in all directions, except for the cliff face behind her and the door that led back to the Ruins. Ruby shook her head and kept walking, drawing her cloak around her for warmth.

She went through the path for several minutes. A loud snapping noise shattered the tranquility, causing Ruby to turn her head toward the source of the noise. A large tree branch that was sitting in the path had been broken in half, but there were no footprints around it. Ruby turned around slowly and kept going, weighed down by the feeling of being watched. Her hand drifted down to her scythe.

She came to a large chasm in the road spanned by a wooden bridge. Four wooden posts stood on the other side, far enough apart for her to walk through. As she was looking, she started to hear footsteps behind her.

She turned around to look, but there was nobody there. The footprints kept coming closer, but they were still behind her. No matter which way she turned, she couldn't pinpoint the source- they always seemed to be behind her. Finally they stopped.

"Human."

Ruby immediately turned around at the voice speaking behind her, pulling out Crescent Rose and pointing it toward the speaker, who held up his hands and grinned. "hey, woah, easy." said a baritone voice.

Ruby's stalker appeared to be nothing but a skeleton. He was short and stout, wearing a blue hoodie over a white shirt, his hands ending in bony fingers. Black shorts revealed bony legs and white slip-on shoes. His face had a big, silly grin, and tiny white lights glowed in his eye sockets. Ruby relaxed and put away her weapon; her days of playing video games had taught her that skeletons were among the least dangerous of monsters. "Don't scare me like that!" she said.

The skeleton chuckled and put his hands in his pockets. "sorry 'bout that. i was just messin' with ya." He held out his hand. "hey, don't you know how to greet a new pal?" Ruby stepped forward and shook his hand. A wet farting noise filled the air, and the skeleton laughed. "heh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's always funny. anyways, you're a human, right? that's hilarious. i'm sans, sans the skeleton."

"I'm Ruby Rose." Ruby said. She was starting to like this guy.

"ruby, huh?" Sans responded. "i gotcha. i'm actually supposed to be on guard for humans right now. but, uh, i don't care about capturing anybody. now, my brother, papyrus, he's a human-hunting fanatic."

Sans looked past Ruby and narrowed his eye sockets. His grin never faltered. "hey, actually i think that's him over there. i have an idea, go through this gate thingy." He gestured to the four posts on the other side of the bridge. "yeah, go on through. my brother made the bars too wide to stop anyone." Sans led Ruby across the bridge before putting out his hand to stop her. "hang on, papyrus is coming. quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

He gestured to a lamp standing in the snow to their left. Its shape was, for some inscrutable reason, a perfect profile of Ruby's silhouette when she stood still. She stepped behind it and held her position, and before she had time to contemplate the existence of this incredibly conveniently-shaped lamp, another skeleton ran into the clearing. He was much taller than Sans, and skinnier. He wore a white and orange suit of armor, as well as a grouchy expression.

Sans kept grinning. "sup, bro?"

Papyrus scowled. "YOU KNOW WHAT'S "SUP", BROTHER!" he yelled. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED YOUR PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?"

Sans shrugged. "staring at this lamp. it's really cool. you wanna look?"

Ruby froze. Was Sans ratting her out? But Papyrus shook his head. "NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE?" He stamped his foot as he ranted. "I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus struck a dramatic pose, his red scarf fluttering in the wind. "THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT, RECOGNITION… I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE MY "FRIEND"? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!" He blushed despite his lack of blood.

Sans looked knowingly toward the lamp. "hmm… maybe this lamp will help you."

"SANS!" Papyrus yelled. "YOU ARE NOT HELPING! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

"hey, i've gotten a ton of work done today." Sans responded. "a skele-ton." An image of Yang floated through Ruby's mind as she let out a slow sigh through her nose.

"SANS!" Papyrus was clearly trying to hide the grin forming on the corners of his mouth.

Sans seemed to notice it too. "hey, come on, you're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus admitted. Then he just sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"

Sans leaned against a tree. "wow, sounds like you're really working yourself… down to the bone." He winked and held out his arms to both made a mental note to never introduce her sister to Sans.

"SAMS! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS! I'M LEAVING." Papyrus prepared to storm off before turning back around. "AND AS FOR YOUR WORK, TRY TO PUT A LITTLE MORE… BACKBONE INTO IT!" He walked off, laughing maniacally.

Sans turned back to the lamp. "ok, you can come out now." As Ruby stepped out from behind the lamp, Sans winked. "you might want to hurry. if he comes back, you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes. actually, there was something i wanted to ask you."

Ruby turned back to Sans. "Yeah, what is it?"

He stepped a little closer. "my brother's been kinda down lately. he's never met a human before, and seeing you might just make his day. so, uh, if you could 'run into him', i'd really appreciate it."

Ruby nodded. "Sure, I can do that." Seeing Sans caring about Papyrus like this reminded Ruby of how protective Yang was of her. Her mind flashed back to the time Yang tried to bake cookies for the two of them after a particularly bad day. They came out horribly overcooked, and Yang said the whole plan "crashed and burned."

"thanks, ruby. i'll go on ahead. don't worry, papyrus isn't dangerous… even if he tries to be." Sans turned around and walked back over the bridge the way they had come, disappearing into the treeline.

Ruby pulled her hood up and continued the path near the trees, another golden light just like the one in front of Toriel's house glowed invitingly; a SAVE point. Ruby touched it, and the familiar warm feeling washed over her, before she stepped into the forest proper.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors note: So I haven't posted a new chapter of this in a long time, and this one's pretty short. I won't make excuses, I've been kind of avoiding it because a lot of other stuff's been going on, and I've just been doing other things instead of this. I'm sorry, and I'll try to get back on this and get a less... sporadic upload schedule ready.**

* * *

Stepping out into the forest, Ruby saw a path that split off to the right. It led to a riverbank where a fishing pole was affixed to the ground, the line let out into the water. Ruby walked up and reeled in the line. Instead of a hook, a sheet of paper was attached to the end with a picture of a strange-looking fish on it. "Call me" was written beneath it. Ruby decided not to call.

"Hey," said a voice behind her. "Messing with other people's things ain't _cool_!"

Ruby turned around to see a strange, scaly creature behind her. It had a snakelike body with bright blue scales and a heart-shaped head. White fluff like clouds grew in patches along its body, and it stood on two birdlike feet. "Oh, sorry!" Ruby apologized. "I was just curious."

"Well, it's not mine either, so I can't get too mad. Let's all just _chill_ out." He paused momentarily, as if waiting for something. Ruby just looked confused, and the monster sighed slightly. "Oh well. Name's Snowdrake. _Ice_ to meet ya!" He waited again, looking at Ruby with an expectant smile.

The pun was so awful that Ruby let out an uncontrolled little pity laugh. Snowdrake immediately fixated on it and grinned. "A-ha! Laughs! Dad was wrong!" Ruby tried to say something, but Snowdrake was on a roll. He walked back and forth as he yelled. "He said I wasn't funny enough, but I'll show him! If I can make this person laugh, I can make anyone laugh! I'll be a better comedian than he ever was! I'll be the best comedian who ever-" He continued ranting as he turned completely away from Ruby and marched away into the forest. She watched him go, unsure of what to do, before continuing down the path.

Turning around a corner, Ruby spotted two figures standing several feet away from her and talking to each other. It was Sans and Papyrus. How had Sans gotten ahead of Ruby when he had gone back they way she had come from?

"SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE…" Papyrus said before pausing and turning to look back at Ruby. He turned back to Sans, who then turned to look at Ruby himself. The skeletons alternated back and forth between looking at Ruby and looking at each other, faster and faster, until they both stopped in their tracks. "SANS! OH MY GOD!" Papyrus whispered excitedly. "IS THAT… A HUMAN?"

The skeletons turned to look in Ruby's direction again, but Ruby realized Papyrus wasn't looking at her. He was fixated on a large, white rock next to her instead. Sans grinned at Papyrus. "uhh, actually, i think that's a rock."

"OH." Papyrus looked disappointed. He turned away and hung his head slightly.

Sans bumped Papyrus' arm with his elbow. "hey… what's that next to the rock?"

Papyrus whipped back around to look back, and this time he saw Ruby. "OH MY GOD!" he yelled before turning back to Sans and whispering "IS THAT A HUMAN?"

Sans grinned. "yes."

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus was so excited his legs and arms shook slightly. "SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL… I'LL BE SO…" He stopped and collected himself before facing Ruby with a confident smirk. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN… THEN…" He stopped and his smirk faded. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT."

Papyrus waited a moment, then jumped back to attention. "IN ANY CASE… CONTINUE ONLY IF YOU DARE!" He ran off further down the path, laughing maniacally to himself.

Ruby called after Papyrus. "Wait! I thought you said you would capture me!" Papyrus didn't hear her, and continued running off into the distance laughing to himself.

Sans turned to grin at Ruby. "that went well." He winked. "don't sweat it, ruby. i'll keep an eye socket out for ya." He turned and wandered off to follow after Papyrus. Ruby shrugged and followed after him deeper into the forest.


End file.
